(l-r) Lori M. Gdanetz, WCSI Director of Education and Professional Development; Julie Watson, WCSI Executive Director and Managing Editor of Lotus Library; Cameron Duncan, Dean of the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing; Dr. Jean Watson, WCSI Founder/Director
By Vanessa Orr
Florida Atlantic University’s (FAU) Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing recently received a rare honor: it was named the Lead Caring Science Academic Affiliate of the Watson Caring Science Institute (WCSI). This new national/international designation recognizes the college’s legacy and global leadership in advancing caring science in nursing education, practice, research and theory.
“This is a generational milestone for our college and for nursing,” said Cameron G. Duncan, Ph.D., dean of the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing. “This designation highlights FAU’s four-decades of leadership in caring science and charges us with helping set the national and global agenda for how the discipline evolves from classroom to bedside to community.”
WCSI has formal Caring Science Global Networks and programs in over 19 countries, especially in Latin America, and this Global WCSI Network identified FAU as the Lead Caring Science Academic system.
“WCSI and FAU have a similar history and commitment to caring science education, practice, research and leadership,” said Watson Caring Science Institute Executive Director Julie Watson. “Dean Duncan recognizes our shared paths in developing theories, philosophies and practices of human caring/caring science scholarship, supporting Christine E. Lynn’s mission to expand caring and holistic health excellence.”
For FAU students and faculty, this lead affiliate status means front-row access to the most advanced thinking, training and scholarship in caring science, along with meaningful opportunities to help shape its future through curriculum design, research and practice partnerships.
“For nurses across our clinical affiliates, it signals a disciplined, evidence-informed path to cultures of compassion, dignity and authentic human connection—the human outcomes patients feel and the professional outcomes clinicians need,” said Dean Duncan. “And because caring science is the throughline of our Bachelor of Science in Nursing to Doctor of Nursing Practice/Doctor of Philosophy programs, this partnership strengthens the professional identity formation of every nurse we graduate.”
As part of this collaboration, the organizations will work together to launch continuing education courses focused on caring science, academia and practice; collaborate on national and international events including conferences, webinars, podcasts and scholarly exchanges; expand opportunities for faculty and student engagement in caring science curriculum development, pedagogical innovation and research, and elevate caring science scholarship, showcasing the college’s longstanding contributions to theory development and holistic nursing practice.
“We are stepping into a collaborative relationship that involves research, education, and community/global outreach,” said Watson. “The gifts, such as technology-resources-experiences that FAU brings to our shared collaboration, will support the evolution and innovation of future and current programming.”
Recently WCSI has offered FAU senior faculty international platforms via webinars and conferences to showcase the valuable educational offerings at FAU. FAU Ph.D. students have engaged with WCSI in self-caring and holistic healing modalities as part of their curriculum.
“Nursing is at an inflection point, and this partnership reflects a commitment to a future where caring is not a soft add-on but a rigorous, scalable science that advances outcomes and sustains the workforce,” said Dean Duncan. “As WCSI’s lead academic affiliate, Florida Atlantic Nursing will help chart that course, translating caring science into everyday practices that renew the profession and improve lives.”
“The current healthcare model is awakening to the essential value of human caring in the midst of prominence of technology,” agreed Watson. “This evolving view for humankind returns us to the heart of our humanity; it invites and requires knowledge, practice and scholarship in nursing to sustain human caring for humanity, the planet and our collective well-being.”
The Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing offers the Advanced Holistic Practice and Nurse Coach Certificate, grounded in caring, a 12-credit graduate certificate that advances knowledge of the contemporary views of healing and holistic nursing practice. The certificate is available for non-degree seeking students and is delivered fully online. Learn more at https://www.fau.edu/nursing/academics/master-of-science-nursing-program/advanced-holistic-practice-nurse-coach-certificate/
